Hello All,

My 8 month old dwarf, Cinnamon, was neutered earlier this week. He seems fine but he's just not eating very much. The vet said he's ok when we had a check up but I'm worried.

He's eating a little hay, a little carrot but only a couple of his pellets. He's pooing ok but isn't drinking much either. He's just cleaning himself all the time!

Is it ok that he's eating a little bit? Is he still just getting over the operation?

As long as he's eating a bit his digestive system won't shut down but after an op most rabbit should be back to eating normally the next day. You've said how much he's eating now but how does that compare to what he was eating before? Have you asked the vet about his eating pattern now? How much is a little hay? The pellets aren't too important as part of their diet its more of a suppliment, the majority of his diet should be hay, grass, veg with just a few pellets. Is it just carrot he's having as a veg? Sorry for all the questions but it may help answer your problem.

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Thanks for replying so quick!

He used to eat all his pellets and just picked at his hay. He's now picking at his pellets. He's eating more hay then he used to and goes back to pick at it all day (which is unusual). It's probably a handful he's getting through.

I've recently got him some dandelion and green oat stuff (it's dried like hay) which he loves but it comes in a small packet so I'm guessing he shouldn't eat loads of it daily, he's eating a small handful of that everyday as well as the hay.

He has about an inch of carrot in the morning and evening. I bought him some cucumber which he decided he doesn't like. I couldn't get his favourite greens the other day (little gems which I will get today)

He's eating treats if I offer them and has munched his way through a treat stick thing over a couple of days.

The vet said to allow him to be fussy for a couple more days.

He's pooed and peed this morning and just had a drink. Now he's thrown himself on the floor and is having a roll n relax.

Perhaps I'm too over-worried but he's my first and having read how quickly they get poorly I'm watching him like a hawk!

He sounds fine to me. Like I said hay and grass should make up 90% of his diet. I wouldn't give him cucumber or any other watery veg it can cause the runs. I give my 2kg rabbit a handful of pellets at night and the netherland dwarf gets half of that so depending on your hand size and the size of your dwarf a handful may be too much with the hay and veg diet. For an idea of veg I give mine a handful of mixed leaf stuff like spring greens, spinach and kale, I give carrot as a treat more than a main veg as its very high in sugar. As a rough guide I'd say unlimited supply of hay and/or grass, decent amount of veg (not too much to give him the runs but say a handful a day, introduce any new veg slowly), about an egg cup full of pellets in the evening for a dwarf but it does depend on his size, do you know his weight? At the top of this section theres a thread with a list of plants and foods that are safe and unsafe for rabbits, its worth having a read so you know what to give.

As long as he's pooing and peeing normally I wouldn't worry, you may find that with more veg he will drink less, again don't worry too much as it just means he's getting water from the veg.

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I've clearly been giving him far too many pellets, he's only tiny after all. No wonder his bum was looking so big

I'll get him some new veggies today and see what he likes.

Thanks again xxx

Rabbits are greedy little sods and will eat whatever you put in their food bowl, so for anyone not used to how much to feed a rabbit they tend to overfeed thinking the rabbit is still hungry because he ate all his food. Don't give in to the cute looks they can give you, if they are hungry they'll eat the hay, which is far better for them.

Last thing, we want pics of your bun.

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I agree with kammie, just keep an eye on him, as long as he's eating bits and bobs and pooing ok thats fine, he will be a little quiet this week but sure he'll be back to his normal self soon.

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